winter blues
by ursula

Comment:
Fantastic photo. Simply stunning. The setup and execution are amazing.

While Mother's away, the Cat will play!
by scalvert

Comment:
I am continuously amazed at the level of creativity, effort, and true dedication that you put into these challenges, Shannon. The way you throw yourself completely into the photographic process, from conception to execution, is truly inspiring.

The Inspector
by scalvert

Comment:
Congrats on this Shannon - I thoroughly enjoyed the story that went along with this terrific image.

Out from somewhere
by LalliSig

Comment:
Terrific shot Larus. I like your style.

My World Of Peace
by Transit

Comment:
Great emotive pic.

Exit
by zeuszen

Comment:
Very interesting shot. Would like to know a little bit more about it. I like the dark negative space below the bench, I sort of interpret that as the exit. Like a black hole sucking you in. The photo has a very edgy quality that appeals to me. Feels like it would make a good print that would invite conversation and deliberation.

First Posing Session
by olddj

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I see that you have already received a lot of very good feedback from both during and after challenge. SOme of what I will say here will echo some of these opinions I am sure.

The good stuff that I see in this images is the composition and focus. Both look just fine to me. It would probably be worth experimenting with her looking a little bit more forward, but I like the concept.

On the technical side, what it mainly boils down to is the lighting. The flash seems pretty harsh; there is a distinct shadow to the model's left, especially near her chin where it is easy to spot. The pearl necklace is also reflecting far too much of the flash, the pearls look blown out in the center and become distracting. I like the pearls though, they add a lot to break up the darker elements.

If you could try this again, but with natural light, I think you would have a dramatically different and much better shot. Fill flash could be used at very low power to get a catchlight if necessary.

Take care, and keep shooting!

Rich.

Angelic
by GIS_boy

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a very strong portrait to critique. My first impression is a very good one. On the technical side I think this is very well executed - I like the lighting, the skin tones are good, excellent use of DOF. The eye is sharp, as well as the lashes, which I really think is critical if you are going to zoom in this close. I also like the model's expression for this image - almost undefinable, makes you wonder what she is thinking.

My only suggestion on composition after looking at this for some time would be to crop in tighter on the right - essentially remove some of the negative space on the left. Not a lot, just a vertical strip from the left so that the curve of her shoulder meets the left lower corner. That still leaves a lot of negative space and at the same time I feel like it will pull her eye into the shot a little more and make it a bit more powerful. I'm not really sure that would work, just a suggestion there. The image is excellent as it stands. I see you had a lot of outakes posted and I like your choice of entry. 13th place is nothing to sneeze at after all :-)

Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

-Rich

Water Balloon Explosion
by NstiG8tr

Comment:
Sweet shot - one of the best water balloon explosion shots I have ever seen.

Killing Me Softly
by ShannonLee

Comment:
Warm regards from the Critique Club!

First impressions make a great deal in a photograph, at least to my way of thinking. My first impression is that the image is out of focus. Soft focus is one thing, but with the hair being in focus, sharply so, it makes the face look out of focus.

Of critical importance is the eye. Having that element out of focus makes the image seem somewhat vague. If the entire image had a soft focus to it this could have a dreamlike effect, but that is not the case here.

I like the composition a lot - I think the main thing here would be to experiment more with your depth of field and plane of focus - everything else looks really good to me.

Take care,
Rich.